Wednesday, ANZ Stadium, 8pm
Referee: Tony Archer

The Maroons are unchanged from their 30-0 win in Origin II, while injuries forced the Blues to find a new five-eighth, halfback and centre. Braith Anasta, Mitchell Pearce and Joel Monaghan are the players who have come in to face the heat of a series decider after not being a part of the first two games. The Blues have also brought back winger Jarryd Hayne and prop Ben Cross, after they played in Origin I but were forced to miss the second game because of suspension and injury respectively. The return of Hayne is particularly important, since his replacement for game two, Steve Turner, had a poor match. But the big question is how will Anasta and Pearce handle the occasion? Anasta has been hit and miss in his previous Origin games, so it is hard to predict how he will go. But it will certainly be a baptism of fire for 19-year-old Pearce, who will be making his Origin debut. There is no doubt Pearce has a big future, but it is expecting a lot to think he will go out there and dominate as a rookie in such a high-pressure game.

Scott Prince made a big difference to the Maroons when he came into the team at halfback for Origin II. That took pressure off Johnathan Thurston, who played halfback in the first game of the series but had little impact as the Blues won 18-10. Thurston regained form playing at five-eighth in game two and the Thurston-Prince halves pairing again rates as a huge threat to the Blues. The Blues have a great overall record at ANZ, but the only win for the Maroons there came as recently as last year. The Maroons will be very competitive in the forwards and have a dream backline. They deserve warm favouritism.

NSW: Brett Stewart, Jarryd Hayne, Joel Monaghan, Matt Cooper, Anthony Quinn, Braith Anasta, Mitchell Pearce, Willie Mason, Danny Buderus (capt), Brett White, Craig Fitzgibbon, Ryan Hoffman, Paul Gallen. Interchange: Kurt Gidley, Anthony Laffranchi, Ben Cross, Anthony Tupou.

Queensland: Karmichael Hunt, Darius Boyd, Greg Inglis, Brent Tate, Israel Folau, Johnathan Thurston, Scott Prince, Steven Price, Cameron Smith (captain), Petero Civoniceva, Michael Crocker, Ashley Harrison, Dallas Johnson. Interchange: Billy Slater, Ben Hannant, Nate Myles, Sam Thaiday